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Transcript of Essentials of Law-Related Education
Funding for the develop-
ment of this booklet was
originally provided by the
American Bar Association
Fund for Justice and
Education; we are grateful
for its support. The 4th
printing was prepared
under Grant #2001-JS-FX-
K004 from the Office of
Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP), Office of Justice
Programs, U.S. Department
of Justice; we are grateful
for the support.
The views expressed in thisdocument are those of theauthors and have not beenapproved by the House ofDelegates or the Board ofGovernors of the AmericanBar Association and, accord-ingly, should not be con-strued as representing thepolicy of the American BarAssociation, the Fund forJustice and Education, or the Standing Committee on Public Education. In addition, these views do not represent the officialposition or policies of theU.S. Department of Justice.
For more information about
the Law-Related Education
Essentials, contact the
National LRE Resource
Center, American Bar
Association, at the address
below, or call 312/988-5735.
© 2003 American Bar
Association
ISBN 1-57073-141-1
PC #497-0081
The American Bar
Association is a not-for-
profit corporation.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the USA.
4th Printing
Designed by Simonik Design
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATIONDivision for Public Education541 N. Fairbanks CourtChicago, IL 60611-3314(312) 988-5735
Essentialsof Law-Related
Education
skills
attitu
des
A GUIDE FOR PRACTITIONERS & POLICYMAKERS
practices
values
concepts
Standing Committeeon Public Education
Director’s Note: The Essentials of Law-Related Education was first published
in January 1995. It represented a call to action for the LRE community as the
nation’s schools were challenged to set curriculum standards in the content areas. Since
its publication, we have distributed thousands of copies of this document. We have
also made it available on the division’s website. The decision to revise this important
resource is solely based on the continued requests that we receive for it. For this
reprint, we have revised the resource list to reflect the curriculum standards documents
that did not exist in 1995. We hope it will continue to guide our work, define our
field of practice and serve both practioners and curriculum developers as they craft new
directions for law-related education.
IntroductionEach year, the American Bar Association Special
Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship sponsors
the National Law-Related-Education Leadership Seminar.
This seminar brings together over 200 members of the law-
related-education (LRE) community to share exemplary
LRE programs and curricula, explore new directions in
content and delivery, gain insights and affirmation through
networking, and address issues of broad scope and signifi-
cance in education.
At our 1992 seminar, held in Indianapolis, Indiana,
Fran Haley (former executive director of the National
Council for the Social Studies) cautioned and challenged
LRE leaders not to be passive bystanders as the national
standards were formulated in a range of subject areas cen-
tral to LRE. During the seminar’s deliberations, some of
our colleagues voiced concern about the implications of the
“standards movement” for elementary and secondary school
instruction. Others expressed the need for a clear articula-
tion of LRE’s goals, content, and effectiveness. A strong
consensus arose from those present that, if LRE was to
remain in the school curriculum, law-related educators had
to become actively engaged in the deliberations of this revo-
lutionizing “movement” taking place in education.
Hence, the Special Committee undertook to coordinate
the National LRE Essentials Initiative, with the purpose
of setting forth a statement of
what is “essential” to LRE
as our field envisions it, and
seeks to maintain it, as an
integral part of elementary
and secondary education in
the twenty-first century. The
American Bar Association
General permission to photocopy or otherwisereproduce, and/or to republish, for nonprofit educational purposes, all orpart of the material in thisbooklet is granted, providedreference is made to thispublication and its date orissue and that reproductionand/or reprinting privilegeswere granted by permissionof the American BarAssociation on behalf of itsStanding Committee onPublic Education.
Chair, ABA StandingCommittee on Public Education/ Hon. Judith BillingsDirector, Division for Public Education/Mabel C. McKinney-BrowningEditor/Howard KaplanEditorial Director,Youth EducationPublications/Seva Johnson
The national standardsgrew out of the NationalEducation Goals formulated by the Bush Administration in collaboration with thenation’s governors.Subsequently, this policywas codified in the Goals2000 legislation passed byCongress in spring 1994.
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
PublicEducation
Division for
resulting document draws upon the wisdom and experience of law-related educators
over many years and reflects the input of LRE leaders from throughout the nation.
Presented in this booklet, the LRE Essentials concentrates on four areas—concepts and
subject matter; attitudes, beliefs and values; skills; and instructional practices and
contexts—which together provide optimal opportunities for students to learn about their
roles and responsibilities as citizens. Throughout the development of the LRE Essentials,
we focused on the potential benefits and outcomes of this effort:
▲ Helping the LRE field establish priorities and prepare effectively to address the
needs of elementary and secondary students in the twenty-first century
▲ Insuring that curricular elements essential to LRE are among national, state,
and local educational priorities, including national standards for civics and
government, history and social studies; national assessments; and other student
performance indicators
▲ Providing national advocacy for LRE by mobilizing and directing the field’s active
participation in the national education standards movement
As with any project of this type, it was necessary to call on a select group of colleagues
to advise and guide the effort to completion. The LRE Essentials was “twice blessed.”
First, we benefited from the vision and support of members of the Special Committee
and its Advisory Commission, under the leadership of Margaret Bush Wilson, Chair,
1993-94. Their decision to devote resources and staff to this effort was crucial to its
success. Second, we benefited from the expertise and commitment of our colleagues on
the Teacher Education Board, chaired by Dr. David Naylor, University of Cincinnati,
who worked with staff to craft the process, clarify the focus, and maintain the integrity of
the initiative throughout its development.
When we embarked upon this effort in 1992, I asked Howard Kaplan on our staff to
accept the responsibility of coordinating it. Through its completion he has worked
tirelessly to consolidate and organize, into an end-product that is both clear and useful to
its audience, the wealth of information obtained in the range of consensus-building
activities that were conducted over a three-year period.
The LRE Essentials reflects the input, commitment, and expertise of the diverse
constituents of our field. Did we reach consensus on all elements? No! What we
achieved through this process, in my opinion, is a more satisfactory and comprehensive
answer to the often asked question: What is law-related education?
As always, I extend my sincere appreciation for the efforts and support of all my LRE
colleagues in creating this defining statement of our work.
Mabel C. McKinney-Browning
Director, ABA Division for Public Education
January 1995
putes, and discuss and analyze public
issues. By so doing, LRE fosters the devel-
opment of lifelong skills all citizens need,
including the ability to think critically;
gather, interpret, and act appropriately
on information; and participate effectively
in our law-based society.
While the essential LRE elements enu-
merated in this publication—subject mat-
ter; instructional practices and contexts;
skills; and attitudes, beliefs, and values—
can and have been distinguished for ana-
lytical purposes, they are inextricably
interconnected in the practice of LRE.
For instance, through LRE, educators
help students value fairness and might
challenge students’ understanding of the
concept by asking them whether fairness
requires a community to offer everyone a
quality education. In pondering whether
liberty should include a right to educa-
tion, students in LRE might be asked to
consider whether property rights include
a right to buy a better education. If so,
students might be asked to consider, does
that freedom undermine equality as a
social ideal? In experiencing and consid-
ering these issues through the active
learning strategies characteristic to LRE,
students should learn how to formulate
informed opinions, decide how to act,
and develop a variety of other critical
skills. Moreover, as a result of LRE
instructional processes, educators foster
the attitudes, beliefs, and values essential
to LRE.
Statement of Law-RelatedEducation Essentials
2
hat is essential to LRE?
LRE has been defined as “education to
equip nonlawyers with knowledge and
skills pertaining to the law, the legal
process, and the legal system, and the
fundamental principles and values on
which these are based” (Law-Related
Education Act of 1978). LRE is typically
understood to foster the knowledge, skills,
and values that students need to function
effectively in our pluralistic, democratic
society based on the rule of law. Law-
related educators strive to develop the
active citizens our society requires: those
who can understand, live in, and con-
tribute positively to the civic communities
to which they belong.
Law saturates our lives irrespective of age
or setting. Consequently, LRE focuses on
real issues that affect real people in real
situations. Through LRE, educators seek
to elucidate essential concepts—including
law, power, justice, liberty, and equality—
fundamental to our constitutional democ-
racy and to the structure and functioning
of other societies. LRE enables educators
to teach how the law and legal issues are
essential to the functioning of politics,
culture, and society. In so doing, it
explores how the law affects students and
how they, in turn, can affect the law. LRE
strives to illuminate the substantive and
procedural values underlying our legal
system, fostering the formation of beliefs
and attitudes that support such values.
LRE provides students with active learn-
ing experiences that permit them to
explore their rights and responsibilities
under the law, confront and resolve dis-
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hat subject matter is essential?
Concepts central to LRE include law, jus-
tice, power, equality, property, and liberty.
Through LRE, teachers can teach what
abstract concepts such as “liberty” actual-
ly mean through examination of specific
contexts and practices. For example, they
can help students understand “liberty” by
giving them opportunities to learn about
liberties guaranteed under the U.S.
Constitution. With that knowledge,
students can become aware that such lib-
erties can still be the source for continuing
controversies in contemporary society,
such as when individual liberties conflict
with majority values or public policy pri-
orities. A further example is provided by
the concept of property, an examination
of which cuts across many topics, from
consumerism to the environment. For
instance, in teaching about the property
rights protected by the Constitution, edu-
cators might ask students whether and
how such rights have or might collide with
the ideals of liberty, justice, or equality.
The relationship between citizen and
society is essential to LRE, which should
illustrate significant connections between
students and larger communities, such as
town, nation, and world. Some law-
related educators might focus primarily
on law that affects the daily lives of all
people, including criminal and civil law.
Others might concentrate on fundamen-
tal legal concepts and principles,
including their origins,
evolution, and contempo-
rary influence and impact.
Still others might stress
the application of LRE
principles and skills in
specific real-world
situations, both personal
and civic.
LRE instruction should recognize that
government use of power and authority
can bring both order and the risk of
abuse. Law-related educators might help
students understand that the Constitution
limits governmental power by separating,
and sharing, it. Educators might also ask
students to ponder the relationship
between power and law, considering such
topics as civil disobedience, conscientious
objection, capital punishment, and victim-
less crimes.
LRE emphasizes the role of due process
of law as essential to justice in our
system of governance. Teachers might
focus on justice through civil, criminal,
and juvenile law, or through such topics as
mercy killing or cruel and unusual punish-
ment. In dealing with equality, teachers
might have students study issues of racial
or gender discrimination, voting rights, or
affirmative action. In so doing, students
will be able to reflect on the difference
between equal opportunity as a constitu-
tional ideal and as a day-to-day reality.
In teaching how ideals valued in the
abstract often come into conflict in specif-
ic practices and applications, LRE should
impel students to grapple with fundamen-
tal conflicts or tensions such as those
between liberty and equality, unity and
diversity, power and justice, freedom and
order, and rights and responsibilities. For
instance, law-related educators might
explain that the contemporary controver-
sy over “hate speech” can be seen as a
conflict between the ideals of liberty and
equality or, alternatively, of unity and
diversity.
(Continued on page 4)practices
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ow and where should LRE be taught?
Law-related educators should require stu-
dents to participate actively in their own
learning. For instance, by using role play
in the classroom, teachers can encourage
students to voice diverse opinions about
legal issues. By having students compare
and contrast several court decisions on
one issue, teachers can encourage stu-
dents to address judicial decisions in
historical context, assess the role of
precedent, and comprehend the nature
of historical and social change. In help-
ing students stage mock trials, teachers
can enable students to experience the
judicial process.
The classroom that best fosters LRE is
student focused. The ideal LRE class-
room acts as a forum where students can
freely discuss conflicting ideas. In draw-
ing such ideas from a cross-section of
subjects, teachers give students a taste
of the complexity of legal issues.
LRE classrooms should have diverse,
high-quality resources that provide stu-
dents with the information they need
while conveying the fact that different
people can legitimately and reasonably
have different opinions and perspectives
on issues. Enlisting LRE professionals
(lawyers, law-enforcement professionals,
judges, scholars, for example) from the
community as human resources for in-
class and out-of-class instruction is an
essential means by which LRE meets
students’ needs in these respects.
LRE teaching strategies necessarily
include inquiring into, and deliberately
considering, controversial issues. The
teaching strategies used in LRE should
enable students to identify fundamental
values in conflict and emphasize the
higher-level thinking skills required for
students to grapple successfully with
such issues.
4
LRE does not need to be restricted to one
class, course, or subject area. The constel-
lation of values, knowledge, and skills that
comprise LRE can be woven throughout
the school curriculum beginning in the
primary grades. Effective LRE programs
should consist of carefully planned, inte-
grated, sequenced, and cumulative
instructional experiences. For instance,
beginning with the early grades, LRE
might emphasize fundamental concepts
and values such as justice, liberty, and
equality. In later grades, such concepts
and values can be addressed through
examination of more complex issues and
dimensions of our shared constitutional
ideals, and their national and global
implications.
While LRE is especially well suited to
the curricular goals of the social studies, it
doesn’t need to be limited to that area.
LRE can be taught in some fashion in
all academic subjects. It infuses every sub-
ject of the school curriculum, just as law
infuses every aspect of our everyday lives.
For example, when students read To Kill a
Mockingbird in language arts, it is both
natural and appropriate for them to
explore why the law may fail to provide
justice to someone accused of a crime.
When students use computer software in
a mathematics classroom,
copyright considerations
inevitably arise and merit
exploration. And when stu-
dents in science classrooms
consider aspects of our phys-
ical environment, the role of
law in protecting it will
emerge logically.
skills
A T T I T U D E S
practicesvalues
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concepts
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Schools are the ideal place for young peo-
ple to learn about the law. Yet LRE
should not be a matter for schools alone.
Every part of the community can pro-
mote and reinforce LRE lessons. Families,
for example, can provide a basic orienta-
tion toward authority, justice, and respon-
sibility. The media, especially television,
can be another excellent LRE vehicle.
The media are well equipped to focus cit-
izen attention on important law-related
issues and to provide important informa-
tion about them. Teachers who capitalize
on these opportunities can do much to
have their students engage in thoughtful
discussions about law and citizenship.
hat skills shouldLRE foster?
Law-related educators should help
students develop the skills needed to
acquire information about the role of law
in constitutional democracies and other
societies and how it is connected to their
lives; how they can communicate their
ideas, beliefs, and opinions about the law
and legal issues; and how they can active-
ly and constructively participate in group
or broader civic affairs. Thinking skills
developed in LRE include analyzing and
interpreting judicial opinions and other
legal documents; developing a capacity
for understanding when and how laws
apply to specific fact situations; critically
assessing laws and legal issues; and devel-
oping a capacity for understanding and
evaluating controversies and conflicts
arising from legal issues. LRE also devel-
ops students’ communications and social
participation skills, including persuading
others regarding beliefs and actions relat-
ed to the law; participating collectively in
making rules and setting goals; building
consensus through deliberation, negotia-
tion, compromise, and conflict resolution;
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and working cooperatively to make deci-
sions and take actions concerning hypo-
thetical or actual legal and law-related
social issues.
Law-related educators should help stu-
dents acquire such skills through guided
discussions on interesting, relevant topics.
For instance, kindergartners might ponder
authority by discussing people who have
authority over them and situations where
people, such as classroom bullies, exert
power but do not have authority.
Fifth-graders might discuss what punish-
ments are most effective and just for
young people who have broken school
rules or the law. High-school students
might develop their own rules to resolve
classroom conflicts or draw up policies to
alleviate schoolwide problems.
hat attitudes, beliefs, and values should LRE foster?
LRE does more than provide students
with information about the law and legal
issues while developing essential skills. It
also cultivates certain attitudes, beliefs,
and values in students as both essential
preconditions for, and outcomes of, stu-
dents’ understanding in LRE. These
essential attitudes, beliefs, and values
include a commitment to constitutional
democracy; dedication to the ideal of
justice in society; informed, active, and
responsible participation in civic life;
respect for the fundamental dignity and
rights of humans; and appreciation for
legitimately resolving societal conflicts and
differences. LRE helps students under-
stand both how law reflects and shapes
collective values, beliefs, and dispositions
and, in turn, how collective values, beliefs,
and dispositions reflect and shape law. In
so doing, LRE also helps students under-
stand how law can and has promoted
social cohesion and effected social change.
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Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . ▲ How the role of law is fundamental in
democratic and other societies
▲ How laws are made, enforced, and
interpreted
▲ How various legal systems and
cultures are similar and different
▲ How law and legal institutions have
developed historically
▲ What the structure and function are of
adversarial and other legal systems
▲ What the types of law are, including
constitutional, criminal, civil,
administrative, and international law
▲ How law relates to key concepts and
values, including power, justice, liberty,
and equality, under both actual and
possible social conditions
▲ How power is structured and how it
functions in societies
▲ How governments are established
(purpose, authority, and limits)
▲ How U.S. and other constitutional
systems legitimate power in societies
▲ What the similarities and differences
are among different types of
governance (historical, contemporary,
and ideal)
S
Power. . . . . . . . . . . . .
▲ What key concepts and attributes are
of U.S. constitutionalism
• • • rule of law (“government of
laws, not men”)
• • • popular sovereignty
• • • federalism (system of shared
powers)
• • • separation of powers
• • • balance of majority
rule and minority rights
• • • social contract and reciprocity of
rights and responsibilities
• • • limited government
• • • consent of the governed
• • • democracy and republicanism
• • • enumerated rights (Bill of Rights)
• • • property rights
• • • representative institutions and
electoral democracy
• • • capacity for and specific practices
of constitutional amendment and
change to reflect changing social
conditions, values, and public
policy priorities
▲ How laws establish sanctions and
provide punishments for crimes and
other transgressions
▲ What the relationship of Native
American societies is to the U.S.
political system (history, sovereignty,
treaties, contemporary conditions,
and practices)
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ubject Matter
7
p r a c t i c e s
C O N C E P T S
v a l u e s
▲ Ideals and practices of justice in
different societies
▲ Role of courts and other institutions/
professionals of the justice system in
American government and society
▲ Role of adversarial system and other
mechanisms for resolving disputes and
conflicts in society
▲ The way specific practices, decisions,
and events have—and have not—
fulfilled our ideals of justice
▲ The way achieving justice has been a
motivating ideal for individuals and
groups in American and other
societies (historical and contemporary)
▲ Definition of certain attributes and
values of the U.S. justice system
• • • common-law tradition
• • • rule of law
• • • judicial review
skil
ls
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(Continued on page 8)
Justice. . . . . . . . . . . . .
• • • stare decisis (rule of precedent)
• • • peer jury system
• • • distinction between civil and
criminal law
• • • due process of law
• • • privilege against self-
incrimination
• • • presumption of innocence
(criminal cases)
• • • prohibition against cruel and
unusual punishment
• • • constitutional limitations on
search and seizure
8
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nLiberty
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Essential Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . .
▲ How and why different human
societies have variously aspired to
ideals, and instituted practices of,
social equality or inequality
(hierarchy)
▲ How law promotes, limits, and
defines equality as a social ideal and
condition in American and other
societies
▲ How equal protection of the laws is
established under the U.S. constitu-
tional system (Fourteenth
Amendment) and how this right has
or has not been guaranteed through-
out American history
▲ How the franchise (voting rights) has
been extended to different social
groups in American and other
societies
▲ How public policies have been
employed to promote or inhibit
inclusiveness in American and other
societies (including affirmative
action)
▲ How social equality has been a
motivating ideal for individuals and
groups in American and other soci-
eties (historical and contemporary)
▲ U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
▲ U.S. Declaration of Independence
▲ Federalist Papers
▲ Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases
Equality. . . . . . . . . . . . .
▲ Concept of human rights—including
individual, political, social, and
economic rights
▲ Principle of “ordered liberty”
▲ Fundamental constitutional
rights
• • • freedom of speech
• • • freedom of the press
• • • religious freedom
• • • right to assemble peaceably
• • • right to petition government
• • • right to privacy
▲ Civil rights
▲ The way preserving liberty has been a
motivating ideal for individuals and
groups in American and other
societies (historical and contemporary)
practices
VALUES
concepts
skillsattitudes
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Conditions Necessary forEffective LRE Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . .
C
(Continued on page 10)
ontexts and Practices of Instruction
▲ Access to, and use of, community
resource leaders
▲ Access to, and use of, exemplary
instructional materials
▲ Student-centered classroom
▲ School/classroom climate conducive
to learning
▲ Teachers and other school staff
trained to deal effectively with
controversial issues and conflict
▲ Problem-oriented approach to
instruction
▲ Support of school administrators and
community
▲ Provision of opportunities for students
to practice ideals to be learned
▲ Provision of learning opportunities
beyond the classroom
▲ Parental involvement in school
▲ Developmentally appropriate
instruction
▲ Instruct interactively
• • • use cooperative learning
strategies, simulations, and role
plays (including mock trials;
moot courts; model legislatures;
preparation of classroom
constitutions, rules, and laws)
• • • use group work activities,
including group research projects
• • • incorporate community-based
learning into instruction
(including service learning,
lobbying, mentoring)
• • • use experiential learning
strategies
• • • individualize instruction
▲ Develop curriculum
• • • balanced
• • • relevant
• • • deliberate in consideration of
controversial issues
• • • designed to examine public
policy issues and help students
make informed decisions about
possible outcomes and weigh the
consequences of these
outcomes
▲ Use demonstrations and lectures, as
appropriate, to instruct students about
the law and legal issues
Instructional Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
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. . . . . . . . . . . . .
practices
SK
IL
LS
valuesattitudes
co
ncep
ts
▲ Emphasizes “authentic” assessment
(integrates assessment with the total
instructional process)
▲ Assesses students’ values, interests,
experiences, and knowledge prior to,
and after, instruction (pre- and
post-assessment)
▲ Incorporates peer assessment and
students’ self-assessment
▲ Bases assessment on performance and
outcomes
▲ Provides opportunities to apply what
has been learned
Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . .
▲ Knowing how to acquire information
related to the law and legal issues
(e.g., court decisions, legislation, and
constitutions) in libraries and other
repositories
▲ Conducting personal interviews or
engaging in field research about legal
issues
▲ Organizing information
▲ Analyzing and interpreting judicial
opinions and other legal documents
or issues
▲ Developing capacity for
understanding when and how laws
apply to specific fact situations
Thinking. . . . . . . . . . . . .
kills
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▲ Summarizing and synthesizing
law-related information
▲ Critically assessing laws and legal
issues
▲ Developing capacity for understand-
ing and evaluating controversies and
conflicts arising from legal issues
▲ Making informed decisions
and judgments about situations
involving the law and legal
issues
▲ Articulating and expressing ideas,
beliefs, and opinions regarding legal
issues
▲ Developing capacity for communicat-
ing and interacting with those from
diverse backgrounds and circumstances
▲ Persuading others regarding beliefs
and actions related to the law
▲ Participating collectively in making
rules and setting goals
▲ Building consensus through
deliberation, negotiation, compromise,
and conflict resolution
▲ Working cooperatively with others to
make decisions and take actions
concerning hypothetical or actual
legal and law-related social issues
Communication andSocial Participation
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
▲ Cultivating a commitment to
constitutional democracy
▲ Furthering dedication to the ideal of
justice in society
▲ Valuing informed, active, and
responsible participation in civic life
▲ Fostering respect for fundamental
human rights and dignity
▲ Appreciating the value of legitimately
resolving conflicts and differences in
society
▲ Understanding how law promotes
social cohesion and effects social
change (including practice of civil
disobedience)
▲ Understanding how law reflects and
shapes collective values, beliefs, and
dispositions
▲ Understanding how collective values,
beliefs, and dispositions reflect and
shape law
▲ Understanding how attitudes, values,
and beliefs essential to LRE are
fostered through teaching of funda-
mental subject matter employing
critical instructional practices
ASubstantive
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Procedural. . . . . . . . . . . . .
ttitudes, Beliefs, and Values
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ndards promote civic dispositions, intellectual
skills, and knowledge. Available online:
www.civiced.org/ceay_civicedpolicyreport.html.
Cornett, Jeffrey W., and Richard H. Chant.
“Educating Youth for Decency and Virtue:
Law-Related Education and Its Implication for
Character Educators.” Journal of Humanistic
Counseling 39, no. 1 (Sept. 2000): 26–31.
Outlines the efforts of law-related education
and character education to address problems
such as youth violence and delinquency, and
the potential of LRE and character education
to contribute to the efforts of the other toward
increasing positive student behavior.
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Scott Keeter.
“What Should Be Learned Through Service
Learning?” PS, Political Science & Politics 33, no. 3
(Sept. 2000): 635–37. Describes the goals of serv-
ice learning and its potential to enhance classroom
learning of factual knowledge about politics.
Final Report of the U.S. Office of Education Study Group
on Law-Related Education. Washington, D.C.: GPO,
1979, OE Publication no. 79-43000. Examines
the conditions of LRE in the United States, con-
tinuing its values, growth, and needs, as well as
the roles various agencies/institutions played in
that growth, and sets forth a strategy to accom-
plish national support for LRE.
Freund, Paul A. “Law in the Schools: Goals
and Methods.” Social Education 37, no. 5 (May
1973): 361–367. Describes how learning moral
reasoning through the practice of reaching
decisions and having to justify them is a pri-
mary goal of LRE and argues for the use of
teaching methods for LRE that involve partici-
patory, interactive learning through activities
such as simulation and role-play.
Hanson, Robert L. “The Case for Law-
Related Education.” Educational Leadership 59,
no. 3 (Dec. 2001–Jan. 2002): 61–64. Describes
the curriculum and learning objectives for law-
related education in secondary, middle, and
elementary schools; advocates for the use of
simulations to teach; and discusses law-related
teacher training and where to find a law-relat-
ed education resource person.
Hendrickson, Leslie. “Active Learning.” ERIC
Digest 17 (1984). ED253468. 1984-09000.
Bloomington, Ind.: ERIC Clearinghouse for
Social Studies/Social Science Education.
Summarizes research about active learning
and student achievement, provides examples of
active learning practice in social studies class-
rooms, and offers specific recommendations
for incorporating active learning into a social
studies curriculum.
elected LREResources
This annotated bibliography will acquaint the
reader with select publications on the ration-
ale for and history of LRE. In addition, some
educators, as noted in citations below, are now
making connections between Character
Education and LRE.
Allen, Rodney F. “Civic Education and the
Decision-Making Process,” The Social Studies
91, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 5–8. Describes the
importance of decision making as a skill out-
come in civic education.
American Bar Association. A More Perfect
Union. Chicago: American Bar Association,
1991. A twenty-three-minute videotape that
introduces LRE to educators, legal profession-
als, and other individuals interested in learn-
ing more about civic education. This tape and
accompanying twelve-page presenter’s guide
show how schools across the country use a
variety of approaches to teach concepts of
law and citizenship.
Avery, Patricia G. “Developing Political
Tolerance.” ERIC Digest (Dec. 2001).
ED45818. 2001-12-00. Bloomington, Ind.:
ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social
Science Education. Discusses the findings of
research on political tolerance, guidelines for
teaching political tolerance, and positive con-
sequences of effective teaching for political
tolerance.
Billig, Shelley H. “The Effects of Service
Learning.” School Administrator 57, no. 7 (Aug.
2000): 14–18. Describes characteristics of
high quality service learning and several stud-
ies about its effects.
Center for Civic Education. The Civic Education
of American Youth: From State Policies to School
District Practices. A Report by the Policy
Research Project on Civic Education Policies
and Practices. Policy Research Project Report
Number 133. Austin: University of Texas,
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs,
1999. Explores state K–12 civic education
policies and requirements nationwide; factors
that shape K–12 civic education policies and
practices in the context of national and state
content standards; state constitutional provi-
sions and statutes; and assessment and teacher
certification. Also analyzes how state stan-
S
13
Am
erican B
ar Asso
ciation
Hess, Diana. “Teaching Students to Discuss
Controversial Public Issues.” ERIC Digest
(Sept. 2001). ED457106. 2001-09-00.
Bloomington, Ind.: ERIC Clearinghouse for
Social Studies/Social Science Education.
Examines the meaning of controversial
public issues discussions and recommends how
teachers can structure curricula and teaching
methods to improve their students’ ability to
discuss them.
International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement. Citizenship and
Education in Twenty-eight Countries: Civic Knowledge
and Engagement at Age Fourteen. (2001). Presents
the results of testing representative samples of
14-year-olds in 28 countries, including the
United States, on their civic knowledge and
skills, attitudes, and willingness to participate
in civic activities. 16-page executive summary
also available. www.wam.umdledu/~iea/.
Lambros, Ann. Problem-Based Learning in K–8
Classrooms: A Teacher’s Guide to Implementation.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, Inc.,
2002. Provides a framework for teaching prob-
lem-solving skills, integrating student interests
and knowledge, and making curriculum rele-
vant. Includes a definition of problem-based
learning (PBL) and its benefits, sample lessons,
PBL instructional materials, and grade-specific
PBL scenarios, with examples of how student
groups have worked together to solve them.
Patrick, John J. “The Concept of Citizenship in
Education for Democracy.” ERIC Digest (Aug.
1999). ED432532. 1999-08-00. Bloomington,
Ind.: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social
Studies/Social Science Education. Discusses
what citizenship is, why citizenship is an essen-
tial element of democracy, and how to teach
about citizenship in a democracy to develop
participatory skills and civic dispositions.
Shumer, Robert. “Service, Social Studies, and
Citizenship: Connections for the New
Century.” ERIC Digest (June 1999). ED430907.
1999-06-00. Bloomington, Ind.: ERIC
Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social
Science Education. Describes research on the
effects of service learning, promising pedagog-
ical practices, and service-learning resources.
Stahl, Robert J. “The Essential Elements of
Cooperative Learning in the Classroom.”
ERIC Digest (March 1994). ED370881. 1994-
03-00. Bloomington, Ind.: ERIC
Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social
Science Education. Outlines the essential ele-
ments of successfully setting up a cooperative
learning framework and having student com-
plete work within it.
Starr, Isidore. “The Law Studies Movement: A
Memoir.” Peabody Journal of Education 55, no. 1
(Oct. 1977): 6–11. Affectionately known as the
“Father of Law-Related Education,” Isidore
Starr provides a history of the LRE movement
and its early pioneers.
Torney-Purta, Judith. “An International
Perspective on the NAEP Civics Report
Card.” The Social Studies 91, no. 4 (July/Aug.
2002): 148–50. Compares the structure of the
NAEP Civics Report Card and the
International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement Civic Education
Study and the gaps that the study seeks to fill.
Vail, Kathleen. “Best Uses for the New
Student Patriotism.” The Education Digest 67,
no. 7 (Mar. 2002): 11–18. Describes strategies
schools and teachers can adopt to help young
people become informed, engaged citizens,
such as teaching critical thinking and under-
standing different viewpoints, as well as ideas
to link service learning to political action.
Vontz, Thomas S., and William Nixon. “Issue-
Centered Civic Education in Middle Schools.”
ERIC Digest (May 1999). ED429929. 1999-05-
00. Bloomington, Ind.: ERIC Clearinghouse
for Social Studies/Social Science Education.
Discusses the pros and cons of issue-centered
education, the We the People … Project
Citizen program, and a 1997 evaluation of the
program.
Related National StandardsWeb links to national standards and/or order-
ing information for disciplines relevant to LRE
may be found on the Education World Web
site (see URL below). The information about
standards includes Expectations of Excellence:
Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and
Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies
Teachers from the National Council for the
Social Studies, The National Standards for Civics
and Government from the Center for Civic
Education, The Index of Standards from the
National Council on Economic Education, The
National Geography Standards from the National
Geographic Society, and The National Standards
for History (U.S. and World) from the National
Center for History in the Schools.
Education World
www.educationworld.com/standards/